Re: Digest for video-downloadhelper-q-and-a@googlegroups.com - 15 updates in 10 topics

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David Marks

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Dec 17, 2023, 9:49:57 PM12/17/23
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Then you declare that after this 250 is paid, NO CHARGES WILL FOLLOW AND IF ANY DO, THEY ARE TO BE DEDUCTED FROM TOTAL AMOUNT OF FUNDS DUE ME.

On Sun, Dec 17, 2023, 9:14 PM <video-download...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
"João Tadeu" <drjoa...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 02:33PM -0800

Lifetime Premium VDH purchased via Google Chrome Web Store on December 8,
2020 for US$14.99; I still have the confirmation email. I'm still using the
same email account; nothing has changed on my end.
There is nothing within the email that Video DownloadHelper 8.0.0.7
recognizes as a license key.
The transaction does appear within my Google Wallet.
 
How do I go about obtaining something the Chrome Extension will recognize
as a valid license key?
Same here
 
Em quarta-feira, 13 de dezembro de 2023 às 00:49:48 UTC-3, Gordon escreveu:
 
Wild Willy <grampaw...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 06:01PM -0500

Anybody who is in this situation can probably speed things up by sending an E-mail to
Jérôme at jcvdh56 @ gmail.com. Explain the situation to him. If you have it, attach
your Google invoice to the E-mail. That way you won't be exposing private information in
public. You will also not need to post on the forum about it.
edino <tnou...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 01:20PM -0800

That's what I needed. An interpretation/definition of the technical
jargon, and their relationships. I'll try not to overload. If I still
have questions, I'll be back
 
Side Download. Definitely wondering about that.
 
Thanks
 
On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 2:47:17 AM UTC-8 Wild Willy wrote:
 
Wild Willy <grampaw...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 05:25PM -0500

Prior to VDH 8.x/CoApp 2.x, VDH had always included a stripped down build of ffmpeg. But
VDH used ffmpeg only for certain functions. The only functions I can think of are
converting files & merging tracks. Converting allowed you (still does) to change among
the file types: mp4, avi, mkv, etc. Merging was necessary (is still available) because
VDH used to erroneously show us certain videos as separate video & audio tracks. You had
to download each track as a separate file. So Michel added a function to merge tracks
together as a post-process. VLC can play separate video & audio tracks synchronously,
but it is more convenient for most people to have the video & audio tracks of an item in a
single file. If you encounter a case of VDH recognizing video & audio separately, you
should report it in a new thread here.
 
But VDH did not use ffmpeg to download content. There was some sort of licensing issue
that prevented Michel from using ffmpeg for that function within VDH. But earlier this
year, ffmpeg changed something about the way it is licensed & it meant Michel was free to
use ffmpeg for the media download function. I do not completely understand the issue.
I'm not programming the product & I don't understand the legal ramifications of this
licensing stuff. I don't think most users much care. I certainly don't. But using
ffmpeg for the download engine inside VDH automatically cures a number of problems, among
them the separate video & audio bug. Michel chose the label Side Download for the new
functionality of VDH downloading with ffmpeg.
 
Aside from the separate video & audio thing, our downloads from YouTube have sped up by
several orders of magnitude. Used to be that a download from YouTube took half the
duration of the item. A 5 minute clip would download in 2.5 minutes. A 1 hour clip
would download in 30 minutes. And so on. It seemed that Google was throttling our
downloads to enforce this half-duration rule. I watched Resource Monitor reporting
YouTube download speeds anywhere from a couple million bytes per second to under 50,000
bytes per second, utterly putrid. And my bandwidth that I am paying my ISP for runs to
over 60 million bytes per second. But I never got anything like that from my VDH
downloads from YouTube. Just the other day, using a VDH Side Download from YouTube,
Resource Monitor reported a download speed of 22 million bytes per second. This is one
reason I say that if you see a Side Download in VDH, you should use that in preference to
the old-fashioned way. Side Download just means download with ffmpeg. There is
something about the way the requests are constructed with ffmpeg that gets Google to not
throttle our downloads from YouTube now. It's a bit of magic I don't really understand
but I am happy to use.
 
Probably, that's all more than anybody really needs to know in order to enjoy the
benefits of VDH. But you asked so . . .
Shyju Raju <shy...@gmail.com>: Dec 16 09:44PM -0800

I cannot verify license and all cannot download videos becuase
of Companion issue, I had already downloaded and installed companion many
times. Kindly solve this issue
"jcv...@gmail.com" <jcv...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 01:27AM -0800

Hi Shyju,
 
Why can't you verify your license?
If it is an old Chrome premium please send me in private proof of purchase.
jerome
Wild Willy <grampaw...@gmail.com>: Dec 16 10:47PM -0500

Well, this is very puzzling. I'm running Windows 11 but otherwise, I am also running
Firefox 120.0.1, VDH 8.1.0.0a9 beta, & CoApp 2.0.10. The 4K variant downloaded for me
without incident . . . other than the rather surprising 22 MILLION bytes per second I was
getting with this download. That has to be the fastest I've ever seen from YouTube. But
the download completed in about 1 minute without error & the resulting file played fine.
I didn't sit & watch it all the way through, just sampled it at intervals. And you need
to be in a quiet room or wear headphones. It's ASMR. The audio on this one is nearly
inaudible, which is as intended. But I was hearing it.
 
I am baffled. The only thing I can think might make any difference, & I'm not sure it
should but it's all I can think of, is that I changed the target file name before I
launched the download. The default that VDH picked up off the web page included some
emojis or whatever those were. Graphics of some kind. I removed those & renamed the
file simply "German 4K.mp4." But like I say, that shouldn't make any difference.
 
Oh. One other thing. I was not logged in when I did my download. There have been
numerous reports that being logged in on YouTube was a problem. I have only the generic
free Google ID & it has been my experience that VDH has usually worked on YouTube when I
am logged on with that. That has been on just run-of-the-mill content. Age restricted
content that you can look at with the free Google ID has not worked in VDH. When it
comes to a paid Google ID of some sort, that has also caused problems. When you start
talking about purchased content, you do need to log in to look at that, although you can
purchase content using a free ID. I did that once & discovered that VDH refused to
download the item correctly. It downloaded the item but the results looked like the
content was protected by DRM. I ended up resorting to a screen recorder to make a copy
of it. I didn't think of checking whether DRM was actually in effect on the item. I
would not be surprised if any paid content were protected by DRM, not only on YouTube but
on any site. Paid content is not necessarily always protected by DRM. But it's a common
thing sites do. Of course, downloading DRM-protected content is not possible. It's
actually illegal. So VDH is never going to download it, at least, not properly. Nor is
ffmpeg nor any other legal tool. However, I was not logged in for this ASMR video & it
downloaded fine for me. That's enough to eliminate DRM from this issue.
 
I don't think the VDH license is a factor here. Maybe it is but I'd be surprised if it
were. I have a license & it didn't interfere. When it comes to Edge, I suppose I do
have it here. It comes with W11. But I do everything possible to avoid using it. I
certainly don't have a VDH license for Edge & I'm not about to get one. Chrome is not an
issue because Chrome is not permitted to download from YouTube. I don't have Chrome
anyway.
 
I think we're going to need either Michel or Paul to peek in here. But what if they have
no trouble downloading this one, either? I don't know where that leaves us.
"jcv...@gmail.com" <jcv...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 01:11AM -0800

Hi Ede,
Sorry for this.
With your details I can reproduce the issue so I will forward to the dev
team.
Thanks for the feedback.
jerome
"jcv...@gmail.com" <jcv...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 12:58AM -0800

Hello,
This problem only concerns people who bought a licence several years ago
with Google payments that no longer exist.
All these licences have been restored privately, on a case-by-case basis.
There is no problem with new licences.
Jérôme
Alley <all3y....@gmail.com>: Dec 16 07:45PM -0800

Also having problems with recurbate/recu.me. The problem did start around
the same time they added the new recu.me url, though I expect that's
coincidence. I'm using DownloadHelper 8.0.0.6 with licensed companion app
VdhCoApp 2.0.8.
New [mis]behavior: After starting a download, download may drop anywhere
from 0% complete to 18% complete (over the dozen or so times I've tried on
the same 1.6GB video). Partial download file closes properly and results
in a playable mp4 file (as opposed to being a ".part" file left behind). %
complete of dropped download seems pretty random on repeated attempts of
same video.
Previously, when downloads were working, I would do a "Copy URL" in case
the download dropped for whatever reason and then paste it into the browser
address bar and it would play the video and resume the download. Now,
after pasting into the address bar, I get a save file dialog that wants to
save file "index.m3u8".
No difference in behavior whether downloading via companion app or
browser. No difference in behavior under Firefox or Edge.
Hope there's a clue in there somewhere.
On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:51:36 AM UTC-5 Duke Gibo wrote:
 
mjs <matt...@gmail.com>: Dec 16 09:59PM -0800

I got a partial download on 8.0.0.6 + companion app 2.0.9 , although I had
a vpn enabled. Maybe it does the same without vpn.
On the beta 8.1.0.0a9 + companion app 2.0.9 , it failed in a few seconds
with the error :
 
GrabInfo: Cannot get info from
https://f33.mediafront.xyz/hl/jollygrey/2023-12-17,05-43/index.m3u8?md5=En2PwFVu6-BSO_w5w4vyhQ&expires=1702790800&origin=106&mid=37f32b92-87c9-4f16-9ee9-e40a8a1faa17&akey=&p=2000&request_id=:Exit
code: 1 ffprobe version n6.0 Copyright (c) 2007-2023 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 10-win32 (GCC) 20220113 configuration: --arch=x86_64
--target-os=mingw32 --cross-prefix=x86_64-w64-mingw32- --extra-libs=
--extra-ldflags='-static -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++'
--extra-ldexeflags='-static -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++'
--pkg-config-flags=--static --disable-autodetect
--prefix=/ffmpeg-static/dist/windows/x86_64//ffmpeg --enable-version3
--pkg-config=pkg-config --enable-runtime-cpudetect --enable-pthreads
--disable-w32threads --enable-libtheora --enable-libvpx --enable-libvorbis
--disable-indev=sndio --disable-outdev=sndio --enable-neon
--enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb
--enable-gpl --enable-openssl --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libopus
--enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libaom --enable-libwebp
--enable-libxvid --enable-libmp3lame --enable-zlib --enable-ffprobe
--enable-pic --disable-doc libavutil 58. 2.100 / 58. 2.100 libavcodec 60.
3.100 / 60. 3.100 libavformat 60. 3.100 / 60. 3.100 libavdevice 60. 1.100 /
60. 1.100 libavfilter 9. 3.100 / 9. 3.100 libswscale 7. 1.100 / 7. 1.100
libswresample 4. 10.100 / 4. 10.100 libpostproc 57. 1.100 / 57. 1.100
[https @ 00000237fa58a0c0] HTTP error 410 Gone
https://f33.mediafront.xyz/hl/jollygrey/2023-12-17,05-43/index.m3u8?md5=En2PwFVu6-BSO_w5w4vyhQ&expires=1702790800&origin=106&mid=37f32b92-87c9-4f16-9ee9-e40a8a1faa17&akey=&p=2000&request_id=:
Server returned 4XX Client Error, but not one of 40{0,1,3,4}
 
moz-extension://92f0d542-7517-4769-9d1d-4ce5c548a85b/background/main.js:31
sn</grabInfo/<@moz-extension://92f0d542-7517-4769-9d1d-4ce5c548a85b/background/main.js:31:88357
 
================
 
That's the complete problem report for this site, it seems like they don't
want anyone downloading from there.
Wild Willy <grampaw...@gmail.com>: Dec 17 12:16AM -0500

Just to be complete, I am running Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit, Firefox 120.0.1 64-bit, VDH
8.1.0.0a9 beta, CoApp 2.0.10 64-bit for non-Windows 7.
 
I went to your web page & got VDH to download the 1280x720 variant that appeared on the
VDH menu after I clicked play on the video then paused it after a couple of seconds.
This was a regular download, not a Side Download. VDH did not recognize any content that
it could download via Side Download. The download completed without incident. But
despite the file claiming to be an mp4 with both video & audio, it actually had only
audio. I also noted that the VDH menu identified the content as being DASH. This is a
clue that VDH is going to fail on this content. Not a guaranteed clue, but very often a
warning that you are not going to get VDH to work on the site. In this case, the warning
applied.
 
So then I applied the ideas explained in great detail over here:
 
https://groups.google.com/g/video-downloadhelper-q-and-a/c/sNfTCMYfiTU
 
After letting the video play in the web page for a couple of seconds, the Network Monitor
did not display any HLS master manifest (m3u8) nor any DASH master manifest (mpd). So it
was time to drop back 5 & throw a screen pass. There was a json listed with the name
master. I grabbed the URL for that json & pasted it into my text editor. Twice. On the
first paste, I changed the file name from .json to .m3u8. On the second paste, I changed
the file name from .json to .mpd. I then ran those 2 modified URLs through ffprobe. You
can see the results in the attached file ffprobe.txt. There was HLS information but no
DASH information. OK. That's what we're working with.
 
Using that HLS information, I downloaded this video with ffmpeg. You can see the results
of that in the attached file Agency BTS mp4 Log.txt. The downloaded video played fine in
VLC with both video & audio. The video wasn't very interesting. It wasn't the usual
sort of video. It was more like a slide show presentation consisting of the subtitles of
what the guy was saying. I didn't sit & watch the thing, just sampled it at intervals to
make sure it was complete.
 
This web site is presenting its content in a non-standard way. At least, it doesn't
conform to the standard that VDH uses. That means you are not going to successfully
download this content with VDH. Will you ever be able to? I don't know. I don't work
for VDH. I'm just another user. I was able to get this content using the improvisatory
approach explained in the thread whose URL I cite above.
 
So you have a choice. You can shrug your shoulders & give up because VDH does not
correctly download this content & there is no predicting when or even if VDH will ever
successfully download this content. Alternatively, you can go back to school & read that
thread whose URL I cite above. Learn how to use ffmpeg & you will be able to get this
content & other similar content from this site & many others. The choice is yours.
Wild Willy <grampaw...@gmail.com>: Dec 16 10:56PM -0500

That would be Jérôme at this address: jcvdh56 @ gmail.com. He works for VDH, whereas I
am just another user, not an employee of VDH. Jérôme handles all VDH licensing issues.
Be aware that he is located in France, so take the time zone difference into account when
you start wondering whether your E-mail has been ignored. Be assured Jérôme will take
care of you as he has so many other users.
Kam Mart <kame...@gmail.com>: Dec 16 07:16PM -0800

Good evening,
 
I purchased a lifetime license and noticed it is no longer registered on my
chrome extension and was hopping to get some assistance with a license key.
I have proof of my purchase from 2020.
mjs <matt...@gmail.com>: Dec 16 06:15PM -0800

@esshor, there was a problem where the chrome extension didn't remember the
lifetime license but that was fixed.
What made it an issue was that there was no license key, when the license
was purchased through the chrome store.
Google decided not to do that anymore. Now those who want a license for
chrome, get a license key like Firefox and Edge does.
You don't have to worry, just keep your proof of purchase stored somewhere
if you intend to get the license.
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jcv...@gmail.com

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Dec 18, 2023, 1:41:12 AM12/18/23
to Video DownloadHelper Q&A
Hi,
Sorry, I did not understand your problem.
jerome


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